Melissa, Disillusioned
by Writer From Rivendell
Summary: After Melissa wishes her younger sister away, she must brave the Labyrinth to win her back. But the Labyrinth is tricky, and the goblin king is not prepared to let her win. No Mary Sue, AU, or OOC--however, there is a possibility of JS in later chapters.
1. Enter the Labyrinth

Disclaimer – If I owned Labyrinth, I wouldn't be here now, would I?

Author's Note: According to the film, Labyrinth is an actual book – not a popular book, but a book all the same. Here I am taking the liberty of assuming that there were other readers of the book that called on the goblins – that Sarah was not unique in that she called upon them, but that she got her brother back. In this attempt at fan fiction, I am portraying the story of Melissa – a girl who was not so lucky. Flames welcomed with open arms, as this could become a Mary Sue.

"'Lissa? Are we there yet?" whined her younger sister as she pulled the wagon down the rough sidewalk.

Melissa sighed, exasperated, and continued to pull the wagon at the same slow pace. "Not yet, Amy," she answered in as patient a voice as she could. "We won't get to the park for a while."

"But 'Lissa, I wanna play on the swings!"

Melissa stopped the wagon. "Amy, do you remember what happens to whiny children?"

Slowly Amy shook her head. "No . . ." she replied, in a way that left no doubt that she did.

"Their older sisters wish that the goblins would come take them away." Melissa's voice dropped to a whisper. "If you don't stop asking such silly questions, I'm going to wish you away."

Wide-eyed, Amy asked, "You wouldn't wish me away, 'Lissa, would you?"

"I would," answered Melissa, grinning. "I really would say the words. If you kept whining, I would call on the goblins."

Amy giggled, knowing that her beloved 'Lissa would not wish her away. "I don't believe you, 'Lissa."

"That's too bad," said Melissa. "Because . . . I wish the goblins would come take you away right now!" She began to pull the wagon again, expecting Amy to laugh and tell her how silly she was being. Amy, however, remained silent–quite unlike her.

"Amy?" asked Melissa, stopping again. She turned to look in the wagon.

A goblin's face leered back at her. She screamed.

"Ah, Melissa," said a familiar voice. "Are you not happy with what you wished?"

Horrified, she looked up into the face of the goblin king. "No," she whispered. "I didn't mean it. I was only joking. Bring her back."

"I was only joking," mocked Jareth. "Do you think I care if you were "joking" or not?"

"I–no. But you should," replied Melissa, desperately. "I mean, Amy may be a brat, sometimes, but she's an okay kid overall."

"Then why would you wish her away?" inquired Jareth. "If she was such an "okay kid", why didn't you keep her?"

"I told you, I didn't mean to!" she answered, blinking back tears. "I was only joking. Please, bring her back."

"Now, Melissa, you know I can't do that," said Jareth, in a voice that was almost gentle. "I cannot give you back the child. I can only make you an offer of repayment."

"No," answered Melissa tiredly. A thought struck her. "Red is red; black is black. Forget what I said–I take everything back!" she cried.

Jareth laughed, a sinister sound. "Did you really think that a child's rhyme would bring back your sister?"

"No," she admitted. She wracked her brain, trying to think of a way to get Amy back. "Don't you have to give me a chance to brave the Labyrinth?" she finally asked.

Jareth looked pained. "Yes."

"Then . . . I want to chance the Labyrinth. I can't just let you turn Amy into a goblin," said Melissa desperately. "My mother would never forgive me."

"Your mother would never remember," said Jareth delicately. "If you accept my offer, your mother will never remember that she had another daughter–and neither will you."

Melissa bit her lip. "No. Take me to the Labyrinth."

"Very well," replied Jareth tiredly. "You know the rules. You have thirteen hours in which to reach my castle–and find your sister therein. Your time starts–now."

Without warning, the scene shifted, that she found herself no longer standing on the sidewalk, pulling a red wagon, but at the beginning of the Labyrinth.

"Well . . ." said Melissa, "here we go." Taking a deep breath, she began the long walk down the slope to the gates of the Labyrinth.

Twenty minutes later, she had not found the entrance into the Labyrinth, and was beginning to doubt that she ever would.

"Something's not right about this," Melissa mused silently. "I've walked around the entire Labyrinth–surely it's not that small. Maybe . . ."

On a whim, she wandered over to the wall, found a handhold, and hoisted herself up.

"Aha!" she exclaimed. "The gate is over there–ah!" Without warning, she lost her balance and fell across the wall and into the Labyrinth.

"Not the best way to get in," she mused, "but at least I'm here." Picking herself up off the wet stones, she began to run the Labyrinth.

Amy, in the meantime, was not having nearly so terrible a time of things as her sister. After her initial fright at being taken by the goblin king faded, she found that Jareth was not so terrible an entity as Melissa had made him seem. In fact, compared to Melissa's description, he seemed nice. Amy felt that she could trust him at least somewhat–and because of this, she answered his every question.

"How did your sister come to know of my Labyrinth?" Jareth inquired of her. It seemed an innocent enough question, and Amy, being the naive child that she was, answered it without stopping to think of why Jareth would have asked her such a thing.

"Lissa got a book from a friend that was all about the goblins, and how a girl wished someone away and got 'em back. She told me all about it, and the scary goblin king, and how she was in love with him . . ." She gave Jareth an appraising look. "Are you in love with 'Lissa?"

Jareth laughed darkly. "Hardly."

"Oh. Why not?" asked Amy. "I love 'Lissa."

"I'm sure you do, now," remarked Jareth. He smiled wryly. "But will you still love her if she does not save you in time?"

Amy gave him a thoughtful look. "Will you turn me into a goblin?"

Jareth smiled again. "Yes."

"I'll still love her," said Amy stoutly. "She's my big sister. I have to."

"You have to?" inquired Jareth. "Why so?"

"Because we're related," said Amy gravely. "It's required."

Jareth nodded curtly. "I see," he remarked, in a way that left no doubt that he did not.

Amy shrugged. "I hafta love her," she repeated.

"Really," replied Jareth. "Then let us see how you love her when she reaches the oubliette."

-- Any and all criticism is appreciated. ) 


	2. Mutual Acquaintances

Disclaimer–Me no own. You no Sue.

Author's Note: Supposedly the Labyrinth changes with every hour. Hence, I've taken the liberty of changing things about–adding a few things here and there, and taking others out, meaning that the description of things may or may not be "canonical", depending on how you see them.

"Drat," Melissa cursed, as she reached yet another dead end. Two hours of walking, climbing and occasionally kicking the walls in frustration (though she would never admit to it) had brought her no closer to the heart of the Labyrinth, let alone her sister.

"Now, don't do that," said a voice from behind her, as she began to climb once again. "There's a better way to get where you're going."

Warily, she dropped back to the ground. "And that would be?"

"Pick a door," said the same voice–out of nowhere, it would seem, for she could see no one–in the same calm way. "One leads to certain doom, and the other–to the center of the Labyrinth. Turn and look for yourself."

Slowly, afraid that something might suddenly spring from the shadows and attack her, Melissa turned around. Before her were two doors, one red, one blue.

"Do I get any help?" she inquired of the silence surrounding her. There was no answer. Whoever the voice had belonged to had left. Somehow she was unsurprised.

"Well . . ." she mused, "Red's always been my favorite color." She reached for the handle.

"You didn't answer," observed Amy. "Why don't you love 'Lissa?"

"Hmm?" asked Jareth, looking up from the crystal he was watching the girl's progress with to meet the child's eyes. "Why don't I love your sister?"

Amy nodded. "Because she said that you love her," she informed him.

"I can assure you I most certainly do not," answered Jareth in the most solemn of voices.

"Then why not?" asked Amy seriously.

"Because," said the goblin king, sighing in a melodramatic fashion, "My heart belongs to another."

"Who?" Amy pressed.

"Myself?" suggested Jareth wryly. Amy gave him a blank look. "It was a joke," said Jareth flatly.

"Oh," said Amy.

"There was another, once," Jareth continued. "But she is long gone away, grown and married by now, I would imagine, most likely with children of her own."

"What was her name?" Amy asked, persistent in her questioning.

A thoughtful look crossed Jareth's face. "Her name was Sarah Williams, though I can't imagine why you would wish to know."

"Sarah?" asked Amy. "Sarah's the one who gave Melissa her Labyrinth book."

For perhaps the first time in his life, the goblin king was rendered speechless.

One step through the doorway, the floor gave in and Melissa found herself falling, presumably to her demise. "Oh, well," she thought blankly, unaccustomed to falling or to the thought of death. "I had a good life." With this in mind she braced herself for the landing.

It never came. Instead, she felt herself caught–grasped–by a pair of hands. For one gut-wrenching moment, she believed that instead of death by falling she would suffer death by strangulation–the hands firm about her shoulders were entirely too close to her neck for her comfort. She did not have much time to dwell on this, however, for just then a group of six hands–the entire shaft, she realized, dismayed, was covered in hands–formed a face and began to speak to her.

"Well, which way?" asked the face, in a rather brisk manner.

"Which way?" echoed Melissa, confused.

"Which way do you want to go?" the hands inquired. "Up, or down?"

"Um . . ." replied Melissa, trying (in vain) to recall if her copy of _The Labyrinth_ had said anything about a shaft of hands. "Up?"

"That's a first," said another "face," this one directly to her right. "Usually they choose down."

Melissa chose not to think about this.

"You are acquainted with Sarah Williams?" Jareth finally managed to say.

Amy nodded. "She used to be our sitter."

The restraint in Jareth's face was visible. "Sarah would be in her late twenties now, wouldn't she?"

A thoughtful look crossed Amy's face. "I think so. My mom says she's still young, which is why she should be getting married while she still can enjoy it," she said solemnly, in a way that left no doubt that she did not understand what her mother had meant.

If Amy had been perhaps slightly older, she would have wondered at the look of sheer relief that crossed Jareth's face. "So Sarah is not married yet?" he asked, in a slightly strangled tone.

"No," said Amy firmly. "Sarah says she doesn't want to get married just yet."

"I see," muttered Jareth. One could almost see the wheels in his head turning.

"Up," as Melissa found out, was most likely the wrong choice. Upon going up, she found that the hole she had fallen into was only the first step down a very long and winding path that led, apparently, no where. Determined to find Amy, she kept walking forward–until she realized, with dismay, that she was walking in circles. While the tunnel did not curve in the least, she found that she had passed the same point three times, and would be passing it for the fourth if she was not careful. She stopped short.

"The book made things sound so much easier than they really are," she sighed, and, turning, began to walk back toward the shaft of hands.

A sound as of the clink of crystal on stone stopped her. "Jareth," she muttered.

"Indeed," said the Goblin King, stepping out from behind one of the tunnel's supports.

"What do you want," snapped Melissa. Tired, covered in dust, and having recently realized that she had been going the wrong way, she was in no mood to exchange words with Jareth.

"I thought that I might give you a hand," said the Goblin King smoothly. "After all, you only have eight hours left."

"Bite me," muttered Melissa under her breath.

Jareth looked affronted. "I'd rather not, thank you. Now, do you want my help or not?"

"Why are you offering to help me?" asked Melissa tiredly. "You're the Goblin King. The one who took my sister away in the first place. You're not supposed to offer help–you're supposed to offer me my "dreams"–whatever that means."

"Let's just say that you and I have a mutual friend," replied Jareth. "You are acquainted with Sarah Williams, are you not?"

"Yeah," said Melissa cautiously. "Why does it matter?"

"Sarah was one of the few to best my Labyrinth," answered Jareth. "She and I have much to discuss."

Melissa raised an eyebrow. "Um, if Sarah bested your labyrinth, she's pretty quiet about it."

"Wouldn't you be?" asked Jareth, smirking. "After all, who would believe that you were taken Underground and made to find your way through a maze to get your sibling back?"

"Good point," admitted Melissa.

"Besides," continued Jareth, "Sarah's besting my labyrinth was years ago. I doubt she still remembers exactly what happened. By now she must believe it to have all been a very strange dream."

"All right, all right," snapped Melissa. "I believe you."

"Good," said Jareth silkily. "Now, here is what I want you to do . . ."

"What?" protested Melissa, when Jareth had finished. "That's not the way the game is supposed to work!"

"Whoever controls the labyrinth makes the rules," said Jareth delicately. "You may either take my offer, or reject it, and continue to fight your way through the maze."

Melissa sighed. "I don't see why you're going to all this trouble just to try and talk to Sarah. She probably doesn't even remember who you are."

Jareth merely smirked.

Note: Okay, you win. More than a hint of Jareth/Sarah, and the plot has taken a major twist, possibly for the worse. x.x Review? Please?


	3. Capability

Disclaimer: The only thing I own is a beat-up 1972 Volkswagen without a heater. Obviously, said Volkswagen does not include Jareth, Sarah, or the rest of the Labyrinth gang.

A/N–Written while "rocking out" to the Beatles' Revolver album. You have been warned.

Sarah was what one would call "happily adjusted." Since graduating from college with a degree in sociology, she had landed a job that paid enough for her to buy a home in an upper-middle-class neighborhood and a car that, while not glamorous, was dependable. While in college she'd had next to no problems adjusting to her independence–Karen had made sure of that–and unlike so many of her friends, she hadn't really been a party girl. She'd stayed focused, gotten the grades she needed to pass, and gotten out. Now, she had everything she wanted, and while Karen–and one of her neighbors–thought she should be anxious to be married and start a family, she wasn't.

Thinking about her neighbor brought a smile to her face. She had used to babysit for their daughters–Melissa, and Amy, later on–take care of them on Friday nights when their parents went out. It had been their mother–Sadie–who had first asked why Sarah didn't get married and start a family of her own.

"You're so good with the girls," she had said. "Why don't you settle down and have a daughter of your own? You'd make a wonderful mother."

At this, Sarah had laughed and shrugged it off, saying that she much preferred being in charge of children only temporarily, and only when she was paid for it. It wasn't the truth, though. She had enjoyed taking care of Melissa and Amy–she'd been sad when their parents decided that Melissa was old enough to be left in charge. Melissa had listened to her stories of the labyrinth and the terrible goblin king therein with a rapt expression every time. Perhaps it was because of this that Sarah had given the neighbor's daughter her copy of the red book.

Thinking about the Labyrinth always made her sad, somehow–sad to think that as she had grown up, she had accepted what had happened as only a dream–that somehow, she had imagined the entire thing. It made things somewhat easier, thinking that she had only dreamed that she was stupid enough to wish her brother away, and yet, conversely, others more difficult. Pretending that the labyrinth wasn't real, for instance, didn't help explain why after "waking up," her shoes smelt so terrible that she'd had to throw them out, or why, in the weeks that followed, she seemed to have developed a great number of imaginary friends. It also didn't explain the strange sense of loss she'd felt in the weeks that followed–as if she had lost something (or someone) very dear to her. And yet, somehow, she could not bring herself to admit that what had happened was real. Admitting that the labyrinth was real was (to Sarah) admitting that her hold on reality was not perhaps so strong as she had previously thought. So she chose not to accept it. What had happened was a dream. There was no such place as the labyrinth. There was no such person as the goblin king. What she had experience had been nothing more than her already over-active imagination acting up on her, perhaps as a result of too much stress from her sophomore year. Whatever had happened had not been real.

What a nasty surprise for her it was, when Melissa showed up, with Jareth in tow, and told her that Amy had been taken by the goblins.

"Okay," said Melissa carefully. "If I take your offer, will I get Amy back?"

"That depends. Will you follow my instructions?" asked Jareth.

"I'll try," Melissa replied nervously.

"Then I'll let you try to win your sister back," said Jareth imperviously.

Before Melissa could object, he had summoned a crystal and was using it to transport both him and her to the Aboveground, where his plan would be carried out in full.

"Your sister said that you love me," commented Jareth wryly, as they marched along the stretch sidewalk before the park.

Melissa blushed. "I don't."

"Really now," asked Jareth, "don't you?"

"No," said Melissa firmly. "I've never been in love, let alone with someone like you."

"Someone like me?" said Jareth, in mock-offense. "My, my. Then it would not hurt you to know that I could never love someone such as yourself?"

Melissa paused for a moment on the sidewalk. "No, it wouldn't hurt me. I don't think you're capable of love, anyway, or if you are, incapable of loving anyone but yourself." She began trudging down the sidewalk once again, satisfied with her answer.

A hand on her shoulder stopped her. "I am capable of love," said Jareth in a soft voice. "And of heartbreak. Why else would I be dragging you on a quest to find Sarah Williams?"

Melissa pondered this for a moment. "I . . . don't know," she admitted. "Vengeance, maybe, or advice–how to better hinder those that wander through your Labyrinth?"

"No," said Jareth lightly. "I–have more to discuss with her than that."

Melissa gave him a blank look. "You love her," she exclaimed, surprised.

"Yes," replied Jareth calmly, in a way quite unlike any she had seen before. "I do."


End file.
